By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (8-14, 5-4 OVC) pulled out a nail-biting victory over Ohio Valley Conference opponent Eastern Kentucky (7-14, 4-4 OVC), 53-51, in Saturday's matchup at the Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagle win over the Colonels moved the series score to 66-25. Tech has now also extended their record for games played in Cookeville to a 32-7 mark.
The Golden Eagles started off the game strong opening play with all three buckets from behind the arc to take an early 9-5 lead over the Colonels. Tech continued to play strong throughout the quarter pulling ahead by 10 at 15-5 with 2:53 remaining in the quarter. From there, the Golden Eagles remained dominant and ended the first quarter leading the Colonels by a 19-7 margin.
Heading into the second quarter, Eastern Kentucky found some momentum and cut the Golden Eagles lead down to 22-15 with a jumper from Mariah Massengill. However, Tech would not let it get to them. Two at the line from Akia Harris put the Golden Eagles up by nine at 24-15 and 2:48 on the clock. Then a three followed by two good free throw shots from Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson further extended the Golden Eagle lead to 27-18 with 1:24 remaining in the quarter. From there, the Golden Eagles closed out the first half leading the Colonels 29-20.
At the break, Tech was shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 100 percent (4-for-4) from downtown, and 83.3 percent from the free throw line while Eastern Kentucky was shooting 25 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from the three-point range, and 25 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles had 21 rebounds to the Colonel's 13.
Out of the break, Tech continued to capitalize on their lead, pulling ahead by 11 at 33-22 with a layup from Lindsey Jennings at the 8:31 mark. From there, the Golden Eagles extended their lead out to 37-24 when Hannah Goolsby dropped a three at the 5:24 mark. Tech then pulled ahead to 42-27 with a Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks bucket from beyond the arc at the 2:17 mark, before closing out the third quarter leading Eastern Kentucky 45-35.
The fourth quarter is when things got interesting between the Golden Eagles and Colonels. EKU would not back down and quickly cut the Tech lead down to eight at 49-41 with a jumper from Alexus Cooper and 7:38 on the clock. The Colonels continued to dig into the Golden Eagle lead when a Cooper basket from downtown at the 4:10 mark, a shot at the line from Massengill and a jumper from Shay Solomon at the 3:20 mark cut the Tech lead down to four at 53-49. The Colonels continued to fend off any Golden Eagle baskets further closing the TTU lead down to 53-51 with 49 seconds remaining in the contest. However, despite the Golden Eagle scoring drought, the Tech defense held on to squeak out a 53-51 victory over EKU.
Hickson led the Golden Eagles with 14 points and 10 rebounds, notching her second career double-double in the process. Hickson shot 57 percent from the field, 100 percent (2-for-2) from the three-point range, and 100 percent from the line (4-for-4). Hannah Goolsby also found herself in double-figures scoring 13 points for the Tech squad and adding seven rebounds and two assists to her performance. Alexus Cooper led the Colonels with a game-high 18 points, adding two rebounds and three steals to EKU's efforts. Teammate Mariah Massengill also scored in double-figures for the Colonels adding 14 points to their efforts.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 40.9 percent from the field, 60 percent from the three-point range, and 68.8 percent from the free throw line while the Colonels shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from downtown, and 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. Tech corralled 41 off the glass to EKU's 28, however, the Colonels forced 25 Golden Eagle turnovers while allowing just 13.
Tech will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 1, when they play host to OVC opponent UT Martin in a 5:30 p.m. contest in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
